


Only Fools Rush In

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Bondage, Cameos, Dom Yami Yuugi | Atem, Drama, Dream Sex, Dubious Consent, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, Mystery, Psychic Abilities, Rope Bondage, Sub Kaiba Seto, Weird Plot Shit, Weirdness, also ish, ish, more ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 02:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20268172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: He was just looking for a card shop, that was all, so how had Seto found himself in a building that shouldn't exist, with a complete stranger, experiencing some sort of sexually vivid hallucination induced by tea?





	Only Fools Rush In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [venom_for_free](https://archiveofourown.org/users/venom_for_free/gifts).

> Written for my darling Venom's birthday! <3 ... It's definitely weird and I'm sorry xD Please tune in for what I call a "BDSM dark Alice In Wonderland fever dream"
> 
> Also for the record Egyptian Lotus, AKA Blue Lotus, is definitely a drug, do not fuck with that shit

Of all nights to end up getting lost....

The rain was absolutely relentless, but Seto couldn't call for a car

The building he was looking for was a little local card shop, it was supposed to be on this street, calling for a car would be pointless and a waste of time if he only needed to travel a few more yards- and considering he was already working well past his typical end time for the day, he really didn't want to spend the extra time waiting either....

"Shit...."

He really should have done better to remember the name of that place too, didn't it have something to do with turtles...?

Ah, well....

He couldn't find anything that looked like a card shop along this street anyway though

Bars, tattoo parlors, "gift shops" that were actually just poorly hidden covers for illegal drugs....

What would a card shop even be doing in this part of town? Wasn't that a little too cutesy and innocent to be surrounded by things like this?

Honestly, he was getting ready to give up

He didn't know why a card shop would be in this district but he was starting to have some very serious doubts that it was there at all

He wondered if he had the address wrong, or maybe it had closed and been taken over by a different business, the website he had been looking at seemed to be up to date but....

Rubbing his eyes in frustration, he started debating if he should give up and go home, when he suddenly decided- for reasons unknown to him- to look up at the sign above him, as if that would give him any further information

_Wonderland_

.... Huh

The sign wasn't so much a _sign_, he supposed, more just the kanji curved together in colorfull neon lights, but...

Well, he supposed it fit with the district

Wonderland sounded like a strip joint or a hookah bar- probably the latter- so it was far more fitting to be here than a card shop would have been

Breifly, he wondered if maybe he should go inside

Maybe whoever was there would know about the card shop?

He didn't know why he hadn't thought of that before, even if the place was seedy, a ¥10,000 bill should prompt some information from whoever was managing the place

Deciding not to hesitate any further, he reached out and pressed his hand to the bar-handle, attempting to shove it open when another hand landed right beside his own

His blood turned to ice, the fear that he had been caught going into .... whatever underground place this was sank into him like an electric shock, suddenly terrified that word would get leaked to the press, but upon looking up, he realized that that was highly unlikely

The man next to him looked very peacefull, if a bit ragged

Silver-haired, blue-eyed, wearing a coat, gloves, and a scarf, even though it was mid summer now and he must surely be suffocating in that get-up

Sure, Seto himself wore a coat in the summer, but his was more of a fashion choice, this was the thick, heavy kind used to keep warm, and that didn't explain the scarf or gloves either

"Oh! Hello there, sorry!" he said quickly, his voice soft but his accent thick, curling around his Japanese like a boa constrictor

A foreigner, Seto noted

"Hello," he grumbled back, pushing the door open and trying to ignore the silver-haired man who all too happily followed him inside

Much to his shock, he didn't step into a strip club, a bar, a hookah lounge, or anything else that looked like it should be in this particular district, it looked alot more like the lobby of a motel- though a bit smaller

There was a woman sitting at the desk reading a book, red-haired and green-eyed- another foreigner probably

Had Seto actually ended up at some sort of local business for westerners...?

"Hi Viktor, the usual?" the woman asked in English, her demeanor calm and cheerfull

"Ah, please!"

Moving back a bit in her swirving chair, she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a little silver figurine, somewhat resembling a monopoly peice

It... actually was shaped like a poodle...

"Thank you!" he hummed back happily, setting the peice down on the counter- it looked like it was probably in a specifically designated area but Seto couldn't be entirely sure- before holding his hand out

The woman then took a key off the wall- so it _was_ a motel then?- and handing it over

"You're welcome, and ... just so you know, this IS your thirteenth time,"

Viktor's face faltered, going from overly cheerfull to far more somber and serious- though, still clearly happy, judging by the smile and the warm look in his eyes

"I know, could I trouble you to watch my phone for me please? Chris should be bringing Makkachin over but just in case there's a problem,"

"Sure," the woman said softly, palm up as Viktor handed her his cell phone

He thanked her in Russian before giving his head a polite bow and heading to a plain wooden door a few feet away, pressing the plastic card dangling off of the key against a scanner and finally disappearing through the door

.... Weird....

Just before Seto could walk forward and start asking about the card shop, the phone rang, catching the woman's attention as she smiled apologetically at him

"Hello? .. Oh... yes um-" pausing, she glanced at Seto again, holding up three fingers- "Three minutes", he guessed- before she suddenly stood up and took the phone with her, then taking a key from her pocket and unlocking the door behind her before stepping through and shutting it again

... Great

He had half a mind to just walk out and go ask someone else for information but he decided quickly against it, just in case he _did_ get seen by someone who could leak it to the press, he didn't want to walk into anyplace unsavory

This place was weird, but atleast it seemed clean enough

He exhaled in a huff, checking his phone for the time and cursing under his breath

The comic shop- if it was in fact anywhere around here- would likely have closed by now, and he really did need to get home and start working....

Get home... answer emails, work on the new game design, flush out the bugs in the current floor he was designing for the VR escape room he had been commissioned to do, get ready for his five A.M. meeting and somewhere in there take a quick shower....

Gods... his skin was crawling just thinking about it

Somehow, no matter what he did or how hard he tried, he never felt like he was doing enough, he always felt like he was horribly neglecting his responsibilities

Some people- meaning his brother- told him that he was just doing too much and needed to slow down, but if he did that his mind would completely consume him

Atleast this way he was only allowed to have small, passing, bursts of anxiety that he quickly pushed off by working more, but if he allowed himself a chance to breathe, he would collapse from the anxiety that suddenly piled up on him

Atleast these things were reasonable to worry about, but the anxiety that came from having too much time on his hands....

It was the manic, nightmarish, panic attack inducing kind, over the stupidest shit.....

Because he would never be able to escape it, he could atleast choose what kind he experienced on a day-to-day basis, and this was far better than the alternative

Still though, he felt suddenly ill, rubbing a hand over his face as his heartrate sped up and he squeezed his eyes shut

Redirect... redirect... focus on something besides all of your complete and utter failures as a human being, don't think about them, redirect...

Forcing his eyes open, his attention turned down to the little silver poodle on the counter, and he took to reading the chart- apparently it _had_ been placed deliberately- that was under it

The chart was long, covering one end of the counter to the other, divided up in little squares with single words on each

Some of the other squares had little metal figurines on them too, some still legible, others not, each figurine was a notably different design, Seto counted maybe six or seven, before he took to reading the square that Viktor had chosen

_Eros_

......

Wow, how remarkably unhelpfull

Inhaling tightly, his eyes started scanning down the chart, skimming the words here and there but not really taking any of them in- Snow White, Flower, Ariel, Swan, Mage, Raven, Morgana, Elphaba, Queen, Lady Noir, Big Bad Wolf, King- until he reached one in particular that caught his eye

_Pharaoh_

Somehow, reading the word sent a shiver down his spine...

The bell above the door rang, however, before he could pay it much mind, and he hurriedly jerked his head up, swallowing tightly

The man who walked in seemed utterly uninterested in him

Dressed simply- in jeans and a t-shirt and a denim jacket- with wild orange hair, he certainly seemed to be different from Viktor, not wearing the same stack of layers that the silver-haired man had been wearing, nor looking nearly as cheerfull

He did look calm though, resigned, almost....

The stranger stepped up to the counter, eyebrows quirking up for a moment before he turned his attention to Seto

"Where's the red-head?"

He so badly wanted to reply with "Other than you?" but the guy looked like the kind to punch first and ask questions later and Seto just wasn't in the mood for anything that physically taxing, so he avoided it for now

"Taking a phone call,"

"Oh,"

He gave a quiet inhale, a quiet exhale, and scrubbed his hands over his face before leaning against the counter, evidently choosing not to wait in one of the few chairs sitting a few feet away

Seto couldn't blame him though, he had opted the same

Absently, he watched as the stranger pushed his sleeve up a little and took off his watch, laying it on the counter before reaching into his pocket and taking his phone out to set beside it

"What... are you doing?" Seto finally asked, curiosity having gotten the best of him

The stranger looked up at Seto with a blink of confusion, before his expression settled and he shrugged it off

"First time I take it? We're not allowed to have watches or phones past the front desk,"

What? What kind of weird rule was that?

Well, maybe this was some kind of therapist's office, it would explain why the rest of the building was locked off, why things seemed to be rather private, and what the redhead had meant early about Viktor having been in thirteen times ... but that wouldn't explain the other weird things, like the gameboard in front of him to start with

"It isn't my 'first time' anywhere, I'm just waiting to ask for directions,"

The ginger-haired man scoffed, a look of sheer disregard on his face as he rolled his eyes at Seto

"You've got no idea what you've stepped into," he accused plainly

That.... that annoyed Seto, to put it mildly

He never liked it when people questioned him, but most of all he _detested_ it when he was flat out told he was wrong

"And what the fuck does that mean?" he bit venomously

"It means you're delusional if you think this place shows it's self to just anyone, didn't Willow explain anything to you before she stepped out?"

"No, she was with someone, what do you mean 'shows it's self'? You're ascribing sentience to a building,"

The ginger actually smirked at this, his face softening, now more amused, more teasing, as he shifted around to lean his elbow down on the counter and stare at Seto the way someone might stare at a child who was valiantly trying and failing to answer a question correctly

"Did you ever read Harry Potter?"

"Ofcourse, what-"

"You remember the Room Of Requirement right? It'd only show it's self to someone who truly needed it? Well, consider this the Club Of Requirement,"

Seto's face was dull and flat, his expression sincerely unamused

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope,"

"You're trying to tell me that this is some magical building that just... comes in and out of reality at will, because someone 'needs' it? What are you smoking?"

"Oh there's no smoking here, the tea, on the other hand," he paused, giving a dismissive gesture before smirking again

"You'll find out soon enough then I guess, but just don't say I wasn't upfront with you,"

"Right, I'll remember that when I decide NOT to take whatever you're on,"

The stranger scoffed again, shaking his head as he turned to face the counter once more

"Jeez, and I thought I was bad when this started... I'm not sure who you're going to end up with, but good luck to them,"

Before Seto could find a retort for that, the back door opened again, and the red-head from before- Willow, the guy had said?- stepped out once more

"Oh you're back!" she smiled sweetly, setting the phone down before sliding into her swirving chair and moving closer to the counter once more, already opening the drawer in front of her

"Snow White again?"

"Gee, how'd you guess?" he teased, holding his palm out as she dropped another little silver figurine into his hand, this one shaped like a... a skull?

He set it down on the square labeled "Snow White", and Willow handed him a key

With a half-wave in Seto's direction, he disappeared through the door, letting it shut behind him

There was something oddly... final... about it, in a way that Seto didn't know how to explain

It chilled him

"Can I help you?"

Turning back to the receptionist, he only gave a small nod, quickly refocusing on his task at hand

"Are there any card shops around here?"

"Card shops? No.... I'm sorry, not on this street,"

Great.... all of this was for nothing

He grumbled out a "thanks" before turning to leave, but as much as he wanted to...

There was something holding him back, something that made him hesitate

He wanted to know what this place was

It wouldn't matter, he figured, but he was just.... curious

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction always brought it back

And Seto was _definitely_ up for a little death if it meant getting satisfied in the end

"What kind of place is this anyway? A drug den?" he finally asked, turning away from the door and facing the counter once again

"Oh definitely not, we practice a sort of..... intuitive therapy here,"

"Intuitive therapy?" he eched in total disbeleif

"What's that code for? Hypnosis?"

"Well, wile some of our rabbits _do_ use hypnotism in their sessions, it's hardly an obligation for all of our practitioners so... no I wouldn't describe it that way,"

"Your.... rabbits....?"

Unconsciously, he took a step forward

"Our practitioners,"

"Why do you call them rabbits?"

"It's kind of a long story, but you can feel free to ask one of them if you want, I'm sure they'd love to talk to you,"

"No thanks, I'm not a headcase," he huffed back, but he didn't turn back to the door- not yet, he still wasn't satisfied

"You don't have to be, aren't you curious though? About what we do? Who we are? I'm sure one of our rabbits would love to talk to you, answer all of your questions better than I can,"

"And how much would that little consultation cost me? A million yen?"

"It's free," she answered simply, shrugging her shoulders

"Everything here is completely free,"

"_Nothing_ is ever free, so what do you want in exchange?"

He took another step closer

This screamed of something skeevy, if not drugs then what? Theft? But that didn't quite make sense either, the guys before him had both obviously come in here before- more than once at that, as she'd said, Viktor had come in thirteen times now and the other one.... well, if she was guessing his regular host- or "practitioner"- then he must have been in atleast twice before or it wouldn't have been a regular

"We don't want anything in exchange, we're more than happy to help free of cost,"

"Help?" he echoed, eyes narrowing, stepping closer again, now almost at the counter as he had been before

"What is this? Some kind of counseling center?"

He had heard of those before, but he didn't think they existed in Japan, as mental health problems was still such a huge stigma here....

"Like I said, intuitive therapy,"

"I don't-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door opened again, this time the person walking in was female, blonde and sporting glasses, finally someone dressed weather-appropriate as she was just in a sundress and a light, short-sleeved sweater, wich looked to be far more of an aesthetic choice than anything else

She seemed to be in a hurry

"Hi, Morgana please," she said quickly, immediately holding her hand out for the silver figurine

Willow smiled sweetly, setting one shaped like a diamond in her hand, as well as a key like all the others, and watching as the unidentified blonde hurried to set the figurine down on the appropriate square, thanked the receptionist, and hurried behind the door

Seto wondered what her rush was

"These markers.... they're to mark who of your practitioners are taken, right?"

"That's right, also helps keep me organized to remember who usually goes with who,"

Huh, then that was why the markers had so many different shapes to them, although he didn't see why she couldn't just use a spreadsheet

.....

Though now that he thought about it, he didn't see a computer at her desk at all

No laptop, no tablet, nothing....

"How do you make sure they aren't just jostled off?" he asked, poking one of the figurines with his finger and finding with utter shock that it didn't budge

It was completely stuck in place

Weird....

He moved to pick it up, locked his fingers around it and pulled, but it didn't move

Was it stuck there with some kind of adhesive? Magnets? Velcro even?

Huh...

"I think you just answered your own question," she teased lightly

Fair enough assessment

"These codenames.... what are they for? Do the practitioners really use titles like Big Bad Wolf?" he asked skeptically

"Yes, that's what they go by in-session, unless they give permission for a client to call them by their real name, but they typically won't,"

"Why not?"

"Names hold power, Mr. Kaiba, in this particular business, it's best for our practitioners not to hand out their power so willingly,"

Seto paused, his eyes ticking up, his playfull toying with the figurines coming to an abrupt halt

"I never told you my name,"

"You didn't have to, you're Seto Kaiba, I recognize you,"

Oh....

Right......

Sometimes he still wasn't quite used to that, the fact that he was a celebrity, that total strangers knew who he was without his ever telling them

It could still be unnerving too....

"Right...." he muttered quietly, looking down at the chart again

Now that he really thought about it, he supposed the names fit with the theme of the place

The business was called "Wonderland" and all of these names had a fantasy association with them- Snow White, Morgana, Mage, even Eros was the name of a Greek god, some of them like Swan and King sort of threw him off but those things _were_ heavily associated with fantasy, even "Pharaoh"..... that was just another type of king, wasn't it?

"Are you sure you don't want to see someone?"

Jaw tense, his eyes lingered on that name again

_Pharaoh_

He wondered distantly what someone who commanded such a title was like

It was a word that sent peacefull waves through his mind for reasons that he couldn't quite describe, and for the second time that night, he felt himself staring at the name past what was necessarily reasonble

"Alright, fine, let me see Pharaoh,"

The woman grinned, reaching into her drawer and pulling out another figurine- this one shaped like a dragon

Somewhat pleased by that, he set it down firmly over the square marked "Pharaoh" and held his hand out for the key

"I need your phone and your watch first,"

"What? Why?"

Ofcourse the ginger from before had warned him of this, but he still wanted to ask for the reason behind it

"Practitioner rule, they don't like anything that keeps time to be in their presence,"

That was _beyond_ bizarre

He hesitated, the watch was expensive but no big deal, he doubted stealing watches would be enough of a business to sustain the place, but the phone.....

Well, he had good security on it, and if the other two- who had clearly done this before- handed their's over with no problem, then was the risk really that high that he would get hacked?

So, after hesitating for far longer than the receptionist was probably comfortable with, he finally took his pocket watch and cell phone out and handed them over

She seemed pleased and non-plussed about the situation

"Have a good time," she smiled sweetly, handing him a key

"Wich room is it?"

"Don't worry, you'll find it,"

.....

Well _that_ was a little concerning

Eyes slightly narrowed, he took the key all the same and headed to the door across from him, scanning the card against the scanner and watching the light turn green before opening the door and stepping inside, letting it shut behind him

The hallway he found beyond the door was.... _weird_....

It diverged in two paths, one left and one right, and looked like it was made of cobblestone- but... _painted_ cobblestone

The one to his left was painted silver, and when he stepped towards it, he felt an immense chill coming from down the hall

Why the hell was it that cold?

Was that why Viktor had been wearing so many layers?

He stepped over to the path on his right instead then, noting that it was far warmer and the cobblestone was painted gold

Gold.... the color of a pharaoh, right?

"Well.... follow the yellow brick road," he grumbled to himself, clutching the key a little bit tighter as he moved down the hall

There were doors following him along both sides, spaced out a few inches a peice, none of them labelled, all of them the same

He wondered breifly how in the hell he was supposed to find anything in this freaking _maze_ but before he knew it, he was standing at the end of the hall, his throat suddenly dry and his heart absolutely racing as he stared up at the door in front of him

The key in his hand felt strange, almost as if it was.... warm.... somehow....

Lips pressed together and eyes narrowed, he hesitantly pressed it into the lock of the door in front of him, and without even having to turn it, he found the door opening

His heart was racing, an odd sensation of anticipation and anxiety suddenly starting to crawl through him as he started walking inside

The door shut behind him without his permission, startling him breifly, before he forced his focus to the room before him

It was .... just a plain room

A plain room, low lights, with soft black carpet, black walls, a black, low set coffee table and then... a gold curtain...

Eyes narrowed, he stepped closer, intent to see what was behind the curtain- literally- but before he could get any further than the edge of the coffee table, a man emerged from beyond the curtain that he was so curious to investigate

He looked warm, kind and gentle, for reasons Seto couldn't quite explain

He was dressed in tight black leather pants and a black tank top, with a thick leather choker around his neck and all sorts of heavy, gaudy jewlry, he had copper skin and _red eyes_ and wild, blonde/black/red hair...

Nothing about him seemed gentle, but his face, his expression, it was so warm that Seto felt near instantly at peace

Wich was concerning for an entirely different reason

"Oh hello," he greeted, his voice deep and velvety smooth, bringing a chill to Seto's spine, but he refused to give in to it

"Would you like some tea?"

Ah right, that was the other thing, he was holding a tea tray

"I don't drink tea" is what he wanted to say

"Sure, thanks," is what came out

Puzzled at himself, he carefully sat down on the cushion on the floor, watching as the stranger approached and set the tray down on the coffee table

"So... you're the pharaoh?"

"Just Pharaoh, yes," he replied as he set the tray down on the table and sat comfortably on the cushion in front of Seto, wasting no time in taking two tea cups- European, Seto noted with mild surprise, the low table and cushions were of a Japanese style, but the tea tray looked entirely European in design- and setting them on the table

"I'm Seto Kaiba," he added a second later, on impulse

"Yes I know," the stranger- Pharaoh- smirked back, picking up the teapot from the tray and pouring some tea into his cup before moving to do the same for Seto

It was only then that he noticed the teapot was transparent

The tea looked relatively normal, but there was a _flower_ floating in it

"What's with the flower?" he asked, pulling Pharaoh's attention from the cup to glance into the pot, as if he had forgotten the flower was even there, wich was odd enough as it was

"Oh, Egyptian Lotus,"

Huh, sounded harmless enough, probably just some aesthetic thing

Wordlessly, Seto picked up his teacup and took a sip of what was inside

It tasted plain, normal....

It was alright, nothing to scream about either way really

With that in mind, he took another sip, then another, then another, until the teacup was empty, the entire time listening to the stranger's questions and answering wichever ones he could

"What brought you here?"

"I was looking for a card shop,"

"Are you still looking?"

"No, the girl out front said there wasn't one,"

The stranger's lips quirked up, just barely, but it was there

"Why are you still here, if you know there's no card shop?"

"I... hoped you might know where it went,"

_"Liar,"_

Blinking, Seto's mouth fell open, blinking a few times

That voice... it sounded like Pharaoh's but the stranger hadn't opened his mouth....

"You own Kaiba Corp don't you?"

"I do,"

"Do you enjoy your job?"

"I do,"

_"Barely,"_

Again, Pharaoh's voice, but without his mouth opening....

"Are you happy?"

"Yes,"

_"Liar, liar, liar...."_

Finally irritated, he turned his head, looking for a new source of the voice, hoping that maybe someone was behind him, maybe he was being punked, but it was no use

There was no one there, and when he turned back around, neither was Pharaoh

He took a breath, and it suddenly sounded so much louder than just a breath

He could feel something in his mind, scratching, itching behind his skull, there was a fog falling over him and he realized belatedly that there was something wrong

Something _very_ wrong

"What the fuck....? That tea...."

He was starting to wobble, he reached out for the teapot, grabbing at it fruitlessly, but fell backwards before he could touch it

Though, when he fell, it wasn't back onto the floor

His vision blurred, and he felt himself hit backwards against something much softer, more like a mattress...

Blinking to clear his sight, he found himself staring up at a beautifull golden canopy over him

Canopy....

He shifted to move his arms, but realized belatedly that they were immobilized, and quickly turned to stare to his right

His wrist was tied to the bedpost...

The left too

Glancing down, he found that not only was he in a bed, as he had thought, but his shirt and coat were gone too

He couldn't comment to the rest of his clothes, there were sheets covering his lower half, but if he had to guess, he'd say he was probably completely bare, he could feel the soft sheets on the backs of his legs when he moved them- what little he _could_ move them, he seemed to be tied down by the ankles too

"Shit...." he muttered under his breath, tugging his arms and grimacing at the lack of movement

Gods.... gods... he felt so foggy...... almost as if there was a cloud of sleep hanging over him, just waiting for the opportunity to claim him entirely

What the fuck was happening...?

What had been in that drink!?

Exhaling quietly, he let his head fall back against the pillows, squeezing his eyes shut, and partly hoping that when he opened them again, this ... _this_.... would all be gone

... Part of him hoped

Part of him _prayed_ that it wouldn't be

His logic was losing, his mind was falling, and there was a strange sort of honesty that he felt within himself now that hadn't been there before, a comfort in admitting to the things he wanted and the desires he craved that he never would have admitted to just a few moments prior

He opened his eyes, and indeed, this... whatever _this_ was was still before him

He yanked against the restraints again but they still refused to give, and this time when he looked up, he realized he wasn't alone

The stranger- the _pharaoh_\- was there

Standing in front of the bed, dressed ... dressed just like a pharaoh should be dressed... with the tunic and the cloak, the pounds upon pounds of gold and precious gems, decorating him like a beautifull gift to be unwrapped

But Seto had the aching feeling that between them, _he_ was going to be the one to be broken open, not _Pharaoh_

He was still so beautifull, so .... so unmistakably and agonizingly beautifull, and he moved with such grace that Seto swore he must have been a dancer

He glided across the floor in almost air-dancing like strides, the room around him seemed to swirl and contort just to make him look even better, to zero in on him, to focus on him, everything else fading to Seto's peripheral

"Seto......" the man breathed, his voice still deep, but now quiet, wispered, like a prayer, like a calling

"You will be my Alice, won't you?"

Alice...?

What was he talking about?

"I don't know what you're saying..." Seto found himself replying

He wasn't screaming, or fighting

He wasn't demanding to be released, in fact, in his most honest state, he knew that he didn't _want_ to be released

He was slack in his restraints, and his muscles were loose

His head was pressed into the pillows and he made no movements, he only stared, transfixed, on the god that walked towards him

The god who smiled at him, with eyes gleaming like rubies and lips colored with glitter and gold

"You know, don't you?" the man breathed, stepping up to the foot of the bed, finally- finally- close enough that Seto could almost touch him

"You know it now, you know you belong here, don't you?"

"I- ... I don't-...."

"You do,"

One moment Pharaoh was standing at the foot of the bed, the next he was sitting on the edge, right next to Seto's chest

But he swore he didn't see the man move

"You know," he insisted softly, his body dancing, swaying, to a tune that Seto could only hear in his head, moving elegantly to straddle Seto's hips, his legs pressed against both of the CEO's sides, but he didn't lower all the way, he didn't sit on Seto's lap the way Seto so desperately wanted him to, rather, he stayed where he was, hovering, one hand moving down to press against the center of the CEO's chest, and gods-... _gods_!!

Never had he felt such pleasure from one single touch

It was a full-body experience, heat spreading through him like hot chocolate on a freezing winter's day, pleasure rupturing through him, like he was climbing a peak, from every inch, through every vein, and he lingered and lingered there at the top but there was no coming down

Not yet

Seto suspected it wouldn't be until Pharaoh commanded it

A wicked and delighted grin spread across the stranger's face

He splayed his fingers and arched his wrist and Seto's chest rose with the touch, like a magnet, desperately trying to stay attached to another magnet

"That's it," Pharaoh encouraged, joy in his voice, amusement on his face, like a cat playing with a mouse

"Good boy, you know, don't you?"

"What-?" Seto breathed, feeling his back hit against the mattress as the hand on his chest suddenly pushed downwards

"What- ... what do I know?"

Pharaoh smirked even wider, like the Cheshire Cat, and suddenly showed Seto his free hand, holding it out, palm up, offering or- ... or _revealing_..? a glittering golden powder

"Drink me," he breathed, leaning in closer, his face- and his palm- now both only inches from Seto's own

"You drank the tea...."

The tea...?

"Eat me...." he sang softly, his eyes damn near hypnotic as they softened and darkened, lust building behind them as that grin turned from predatory to seductive

"Now eat the cake,"

At once, he inhaled, and then blew the golden dust into Seto's face

And it felt like a tornado

And it felt like a storm

It wrapped around him and sent his body through the dangerous throes of ecstasy and torment, of pleasure and pain, there was a sense of weightlessness, as if he were spinning around in space, no gravity to keep him steady, just pure air and a sense of floating that was at once euphoric and horrifying

Euphoric in the way his heart raced and the way he felt almost superhuman, like nothing could pull him back down, like he was living in an alternate dimension

And horrifying in the dreaded fear that he would land, somehow, someday, in some form, he would crash back to earth, and he didn't know how or when or how violent that crash would be

Everything was spinning around him, and everything was surreal

The curtains and the sheets, the bed and the floor, the air in his lungs and the world spinning around him, it felt like a dream

He tossed his head back and found no pillows beneath him, opened his eyes and gasped at the realization that he was floating- literally floating, levitating above the bed with only the restraints around his wrists and ankles to anchor him down, to keep him from going straight through the canopy above

It was like a spell, it was like a ritual, like something out of some wild fantasy that he could only fathom in his deepest of dreams

All of his senses were alive and on the edge

His breath burned pleasantly with every inhale and the golds in the room bouncing off of the black seemed so much more vibrant

He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and his own breathing, and he could taste the remnants of that tea on his tongue, so much sweeter than before, with a soft floral aftertaste, and the scent of flowers in the air, and his skin pricked with chills and warm flushes that spread through him like ocean waves crashing against him

And then....

And then.........

And then..............

He crashed

The breath was slammed out of him and he fell against the bed so hard that he could feel the vibrations through his spine

His restraints were tight again and he could barely move, he felt lost and disoriented, and everything was a mess and everything was a wreck and there was no clarity anymore--

Until there was

Until there was a hand wrapped around his throat, _squeezing_, grounding and centering, and forcing Seto to stare up at the god above him

And oh did he resemble a god

The way he hovered above Seto, forcing the larger man to stare up at him in reverence and worship, as if praying to him

The straightness of his back, the dominance in his eyes, and the steadiness of his hand

He was a god who enjoyed playing with mortals and had Seto literally beneath his fingertips

"Now do you see?" he breathed, leaning down closer, letting his hand loosen against Seto's throat, and only then, as he shifted, did Seto notice that he was no longer merely hovering above his lap

Pharaoh was flush against him, skin to skin, and he was going to lose his mind

"Now do you see, Alice?"

Seto exhaled, blinking back tears of confusion and over-stimulation and whatever the fuck any of this was as he stared into those beautifull ruby eyes

"I'm not Alice..."

"Don't be rediculous, you're _my_ Alice, and you see who I am now, don't you?"

As Pharaoh said that, there was a sort of.... glimmer

A flash

A glitch in Seto's vision, where Pharaoh didn't look entirely _human_ anymore

His ears were black and fuzzy and pointed, cat ears, perched atop his head

His mouth was unnaturally wide, with sharp, pointed teeth grinning down at the mortal beneath him

His hands sported sharp black claws, and there was a long black tail swaying behind him

The image only lasted a moment, before flicking back to the human guise of unnatural, celestial beauty, and then back again to the image of.... Seto could only describe it as _horror_

Beautifull horror

And he wasn't scared

He wasn't afraid of the man who had become a monster atop his lap

Quite the opposite- he found himself _aroused_ by this turn of events

A man? No

A monster? Maybe

But a god? More than anything else

There was beauty there, in that transformation, that Seto couldn't put into words, and he wanted more

He ached for more

"You see me now.... don't you Alice? You see who I am, don't you?"

There was a tremble in his body as Pharaoh moved his hands slowly down his shoulders and over his chest, the touch uncharacteristically soft for the situation as the image of him flicked back to that soft, human appearance

"You know who I am," he insisted quietly, leaning down and gently nipping at Seto's ear

"You know who I am, and ... you know who you are, don't you?"

He didn't, did he?

He didn't know anything about this stranger, did he?

And yet.... yet........ yet...........

"I do,"

That grin was back, lighter than before, but still so predatory, like a cat staring down at a mouse

He brought his fingers up to gently trail against Seto's jawline before dipping down and grabbing at his throat again

The image flashed again, back to the cat-monster-god-creature that Pharaoh was hiding beneath his human skin, and that Cheshire grin was there once more as the claws dug pleasantly into the side of his neck

"Say it then," he demanded

"Tell me you're mine,"

"I'm your's," Seto promised immediately

"Tell me you belong only to me,"

"I belong only to you,"

"Tell me .. tell me that you're my Alice,"

"I'm your Alice," Seto breathed as the image flickered back to the normal, human guise

"My good Alice," Pharaoh purred, leaning down and hovering his lips above Seto's- not a kiss, not yet, but a tease, a promise of what was to come

"Tell me again..... tell me again..... who are you?"

"I'm your's," he promised breathlessly as he pushed upwards to catch Pharaoh's lips on his own

"I'm your Alice,"

That kiss was unlike anything he had ever felt before

It was so ... it was so..... _euphoric_

Ecstasy rippled through him

More pleasure than he had ever felt in his entire life flooded each and every vein

He found himself gasping again as the pleasure overtook him, wracking through him and wrecking him

Never before had he felt any sensation as intense as the euphoria that was shooting through him from that kiss

So much that he could swear he was floating again

So much that he could see visions dancing before his eyes of the other patrons of this strange establishment- Viktor being chased through snowy woods by a beautifull man in black lingerie with black rabbit ears and a little black rabbit's tail... and the red-headed man from before with a lithe, goddess like woman standing above him, with her heel on his thigh and her fingernails tapping beneath his chin, and the unidentified blonde gasping out a sob as a brunette with a flogger teased the tails against the blonde's shoulder and... and _more_ that he didn't even recognize

People he had never met

Scenarios he could have never imagined

It felt as though his mind had suddenly been cracked open to an entirely different universe and he was so, so desperate to live there for the rest of eternity

But then his eyes opened, and he gasped, and everything was different

He was laying on the carpeted floor, fully dressed, the coffee table with the treacherous tea in front of him, and Pharaoh, still in his original leather and jewlry look, was smiling down at him

"What the.... what the fuck...?" Seto breathed, feeling himself beginning to choke up

Had all of that been fake?

Had it all just been one big acid trip or some shit?!

Was... was any of what he experienced actually real...?

"Did you enjoy our first game?" Pharaoh asked with a smirk

"What...?"

"You're back now, from the stars, from where you were before, you're back from the Looking Glass,"

Swallowing down his tears, his loss and disappointment quickly and suddenly turned to white hot rage

"You motherfucker... what did you put in that tea!?"

"I told you- Egyptian Lotus,"

"Wich is some kind of drug, isn't it?" he hissed as he slowly sat up, glaring at the teapot

A hallucination......

It had all been a hallucination....

"Not in the least, Egyptian Lotus _can_ be very relaxing, but you have my word, I did not 'drug' you, I merely showed you a preveiw of what was ahead of you, should you become mine,"

"You fucking drugged me!! What else wou-?!"

"You weren't drugged, Seto," Pharaoh insisted calmly, though a bit sadly, as though he had really expected a different reaction

"I showed you who I was, you saw the truth, I gave you the tea to open your eyes, and now they're open, so you can't just go and close them again,"

He pursed his lips, not sure what to believe

He may have never been high before but... but he was so _sure_ that that encounter was real, it had _felt_ so damn _real_... but then again, didn't all trips? That's what he always heard....

"You saw me," Pharaoh continued

"You saw me, and you saw yourself, and there's no going back now, Alice,"

"Why do you keep calling me that!?"

"Because that's what you are," Pharaoh replied softly, slowly standing up and walking closer, reaching down to gently drag his fingers against Seto's jaw

"You're my Alice, and you know that, don't you?"

There was that weird glitching again, that strange rupture in his vision, where reality phased out just long enough for some kind of dream to take place

A dream of the cat-monster-god-creature from his hallucination, taking Seto's hand and dancing across a table at a tea party with him

It felt real

It felt historical

It felt like it had happened before and he was only just now remembering what had otherwise been lifetimes away

"I- .... I don't know what I know," Seto finally settled

He couldn't tell fantasy from reality anymore

He didn't know what to believe

He felt so.... so out of place......

Pharaoh's hand rested gently on his own, drawing Seto's attention to the other man the gentle, warm smile that he wore

"It's ok, this is perfectly natural, but you'll feel better soon, you just need to get used to it,"

"Get used to what? The drugs?"

"I told you, they aren't drugs," Pharaoh sighed, letting his fingers move upwards, starting to comb through the brunette's hair

"I showed you who I am, who you are, who we are meant to be together, your mind is having a hard time adjusting to that, but it WILL, they always do, it just takes a few visits,"

"How many?"

"Mm... three to six usually, depending on how closed you are,"

"Closed...?"

"Yes, those who are more open-minded and aware of themselves catch on quicker, but those who are close-minded and have a harder time knowing who they are.... they take a wile,"

Seto swallowed tightly

He remembered what Viktor had said, his thirteenth time....

"What happens.... on the thirteenth time?" Seto asked quietly

"Mmm? Now what brings that up?"

"Just curious,"

Pharaoh smiled again, warm and gentle, slightly amused and fond, the way one might regard a child

"The thirteenth time is the last time, if you return to me twelve more times after this one, in a row, not to anyone else, then you will be mine for eternity, and I will take you back to Wonderland with me, where you belong,"

He wished the man would stop speaking in fucking metaphors but....

But he couldn't deny that his curiosity was peaked

"Why thirteen?"

"Because the clock only has twelve numbers, after twelve you've run out of time and must make a decision, twelve is the end of a cycle, thirteen is the beginning of a new one,"

Seto didn't understand

He didn't get it

But he wanted to know more

He wanted to _have_ more....

"Tell me, will you be returning to me again, Seto?"

"Yes," Seto replied instantly

He didn't understand it

He didn't know what had just happened or what the longterm goal was for Pharaoh or anyone else at this place, but he knew that he wanted more, and he knew that he wanted to be with this man again and again and again.... maybe forever....

Yeah... forever certainly didn't sound like a bad idea....

Though, that was when it hit him, as Pharaoh started to pull away, that something was wrong here....

"Wait a minute, is that.... is that it? Is it over?"

"Our first meeting? Yes, is that a problem?"

Seto opened his mouth, about to tell him that it was _absolutely_ a problem, before realization hit him

He had no right to say any such thing

Pharaoh had never promised anything or advertised anything, Seto was just assuming

And clearly whatever _this_ was, it wasn't what they were putting on the sign

Seto still had no idea what type of business this even was, so he couldn't exactly claim to know what Pharaoh's typical sessions were like....

"I- ... no, no Pharaoh, I suppose not,"

The stranger smiled at him a little more deviously now, much closer than how he had been looking at him earlier in the evening

"I get it... you want me to dominate you, is that right? You want the floggers and handcuffs and pretty, shiny things, is that right?"

"I- .... well..... isn't what you just did- ... what happened... wasn't that domination?"

"Oh, Wonders no, that was just opening your eyes, as I told you, you have no idea what my domination feels like,"

"Then... will you show me?'

Pharaoh was quiet for a moment, seemingly contemplative, before taking a step away from Seto

"You'll have to sign a contract first, I don't do casual affairs, my time is too valuable to waste on someone who isn't fully committed to being mine, so, are you committed, Seto? Are you committed to being mine for all of eternity?"

"I am," Seto replied effortlessly

He could say it with certainty now, no matter what Pharaoh had in mind, no matter what he wanted or what he did, he knew that he was committed to more of this

"Can I ask though.... is Pharaoh really your name?"

"Hm? No, just a title,"

"Then... what's your real name?"

Pharaoh hummed, seeming to think that over for a moment

"We really aren't supposed to give those out... it could be dangerous...."

Seto waited, hoping that he wasn't done with his sentence, and fortunately.....

"I suppose, for my True Alice however, I can make _one_ exception...."

He turned back around, expression mixed between the warm smile that filled Seto with comfort and the predatory smirk that chilled him pleasantly to his core

"I am Atem, now the real question, Seto, is this: Who are you?"

Yes.... who was he?

He had never been more confident in the answer

"I'm your's," he replied simply

"I'm your Alice,"

The grin was back as Atem leaned down, nails scratching lightly gently at Seto's scalp as he caught him in one more kiss

"That's my good Alice...."


End file.
